Christmas ain't Christmas wo the one you love
by M.Kasshoku
Summary: A little fic inspired by an oldies Christmas song that I like. Sano is gone without a trace, and Kenshin goes on a decorating spree!


"Christmas Just ain't Christmas (Without the one you love)"

A Sano/Megumi Christmas Fic

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Disclaimer: All characters of Rurouni Kenshin belong to Nobuhiro Watsuki, JUMP comics, and Sony entertainment.

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Authors notes: Inspiration for this story came from listening to lots of oldies Christmas songs. One song in particular, "Christmas ain't Christmas (without the one you love) by The O'Jays, just had me thinking about Sano and Megumi so I HAD to write this story. Music has a lot to do with what I write and Christmas music was no exception. Due to my hope to get the story posted before Christmas Day it is in its raw form- unedited, untitled (I just ripped off the title of the song. J ) and open to any kind of criticism. Hope you enjoy my little contribution to the Christmas holidays, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 

Thanks for reading! -Mkasshoku

_Deck the halls with boughs of holly. That's what the song says_, Megumi thought as she spent the entire afternoon with Kenshin decorating the Kamiya Dojo. Yahiko had asked Kaoru to take him down by the river for some extensive training and she all to happily agreed, impressed with Yahiko's motivation to improve his Kamiya Kasshin Ryu; and easily falling Kenshin's plan of getting her out of the house. Once she and Yahiko had gone, Kenshin immediately went to work, so by the time Megumi arrived, all of the rails and surrounding fences were trimmed with bits of garland, and pinecones strung together. 

Megumi smelled the scent of pine a soon as she reached the gate and she went inside to see Kenshin standing on a chair, and wrapping a long line of twisted colored paper around a beautifully full six-foot tall tree. The floor was littered with origami ornaments of dragons, and birds, and next to them were more pinecones, wrapped in green and red paper. A bag of candy sat next them with a ball of string and a needle. Megumi immediately kneeled down on the floor and began to string the colorful pieces of candy together. When she was done with that, she knotted both ends, and helped Kenshin wrap it around the tree. The origami and pinecone ornaments went on last, and when they were done hanging every last one, they stood back and admired their work. 

The tree glittered in the afternoon light, and the scent of pine traveled throughout the halls, into the holly that hung on the walls, and into the mistletoe that dangled from the beams along the ceiling. It was as if they were inside a completely different home, not inside of a dojo at all. Megumi had seen pictures of these types of scenes from the West. Megumi felt that they had done a good job imitating those scenes right down to the stockings, which Kenshin hung, one for each of them including Dr. Genzai, along the vertical beams. He had taken such care in making the dojo look as festive and cozy as those homes in the West and Megumi had to admit that his efforts were a success.

"She really is going to like it," Kenshin stated with certainty.

Megumi nodded in agreement and added, "She will _love_ it. This is going to be a wonderful surprise for Kaoru-san."

"She deserves it. She does so much for everyone, and I know that she has been looking forward to celebrating this Christmas holiday. I wanted to do something for her for a change."

Megumi smiled at Kenshin and raised her hand to gently pat the scar on his left cheek. "You are an absolute sweetheart, Ken-san. You are a true god-send to Kaoru-san and I hope you know that she is lucky to have found you, and marry you right away." Megumi moved in closer so that she could whisper into Kenshin's ear, "She knows how lucky she is. She tells me everyday."

Kenshin's cheek turned pink beneath Megumi's hand as he gazed bashfully at her, "Megumi-dono…" he began, too embarrassed to continue. Megumi giggled and kissed his other cheek. His face was now beet-red. Megumi laughed hard.

"Oh, Ken-san! You have mistletoe hanging from every inch of the ceiling, and _I'm_ not one to break away from this little western tradition. Now come here. I have to kiss you for every single one that we previously passed under. Oho-ho-ho!"

"ORO!" Kenshin's eyes grew unnaturally wide, and he went weak in Megumi's arms as she proceeded to plant one kiss after another on both of his burning cheeks. He knew that the lipstick was going to be hard to get off, and his gesture of love for Kaoru would be overshadowed by what she would be thinking when she took one look at him. Megumi was always so fresh with him. He wondered if she acted this way with the one she was supposed to love. That thought made an alarm go off in his head, for there was something he had been meaning to ask her since the day he and Kaoru were married. He was back to his normal self when Megumi was finished, and he fixed her with a pondering gaze that instantly made her uneasy. She knew what that look meant. He had a point to make about her life, her love, her lack of love, her work, or whatever else happened to pop into his head whenever she chose to tease him so unmercifully. _Well, I suppose I deserve this, _she thought as she braced herself for the lecture that was coming.

"Megumi-dono, whatever happened between you and Sanosuke? I don't see you with him anymore." His eyes were firm, and searching. Megumi was taken aback. _So this is what he had in mind to bother me about. He doesn't beat around the bush, does he?_

She moved away from Kenshin, and turned to look at the tree, but she wasn't seeing its beauty. She was thinking about how she would love to say that she and Sanosuke were completely happy with each other, and that they planned to settle into a home together where she could open a branch of Dr. Genzai's clinic, when the winter season finally ended. She would love to say that they were on the verge of entering a new stage in their relationship, but since he was nowhere in the city limits of Tokyo, all she could say was that one day he had just disappeared. 

Kenshin's brows knotted together, as he turned the news around in his mind and he looked more and more unpleased as he did so. "When did he leave?" 

Megumi sighed and gave up trying to hide anything from the former Hitokiri Battousai. She knew that he would just read it off of her, so she might as well just save him the trouble. "Sanosuke left the day after you and Kaoru were married. I haven't heard from him since, and neither have any of his friends. I even asked his friend Katsu if he had stopped by, but he says that the wedding day was also the last he had seen of him. He never mentioned any problems, or any trouble that he might have been in. We went to bed that night, and when I woke up, he was gone. I have no note from him, and none of his clothes were in the drawers. The only thing he left behind was the red bandana he always took off and draped over a chair before he got into bed." Megumi paused and turned back to Kenshin. "Do _you_ know anything that might have happened to him?"

Kenshin knew not to take Megumi's accusing tone to heart. He had no idea that he had treaded onto something so painful. His heart went out to Megumi, and for a brief instance his temper focused itself on Sanosuke. _Sano, how could you? A good woman who is devoted to you doesn't come along everyday! Why would you do something like this to Megumi?_ Kenshin decided that his Sakaba would have a nice talk with Sano about the responsibilities a man had toward his beloved. But right now, he had to get Megumi out of the somber mood he had forced on her. He reached out, and took her hand. His eyes scanned her quickly and he immediately noticed something physically different about her. He didn't know what to say without making her feel worse, so he let it be and pulled her along with him, so that he could show her how he had decorated the rest of the rooms. Throughout his tour Megumi temporarily forgot about her misery and gasped with delight at the gingerbread house that was on display in the sitting room, and at the aromas of rice pudding, pumpkin pie, and sugar cookies that filled the kitchen. The wreath that decorated the front entrance of the Dojo was topped with a bright red ribbon, and the walkway was lined with a beautiful red leafed plant, which Megumi understood, came into season at this time of year and came from a very warm climate. She bent over to feel their velvety soft leaves and saw some of them oozing a milky white liquid. She also knew that this liquid was dangerous so she backed away and just admired its beauty. 

When the tour was over she faced Kenshin and squeezed his hand firmly inside of hers, beaming with delight. "Kaoru is going to love this. She deserves every bit of it. I'm honored that you showed this to me."

Kenshin looked at her steadily. He couldn't help what he had to say. "You deserve something like this too." 

Megumi knew that he meant well. She simply kept on smiling and then she followed Kenshin inside to await Kaoru's return from practice. What she didn't know was that someone had been admiring the décor right along with her, and he stayed just far enough back so that Kenshin would not detect him. He knew her well, and he hated himself for having to leave her so suddenly. But things in his life always had a tendency to repeat themselves, and so he had to take care of some former yakuza business, and put an end to it before he could allow himself to commit to her for the remainder of his life. If she was going to be with him, he wanted her to be safe. His past had to be completely gone, and so with that done he had a clean slate to begin his new life with her. But seeing her, he knew that he had hurt her. He knew that leaving her without an explanation or a goodbye was the worst thing to do to the woman you loved. He hated himself every day he was gone, and it was this hate and anger that gave him the strength to end the bullshit of his past once and for all. Then of course he had to have time to heal, since he didn't just want to walk back into Megumi's life as a bloody, broken mess. So he stayed away until he was as good as new. Along the way he re-established himself and used the only good skills he had ever acquired to get himself an actual job with the government. They were so impressed with his fighting ability that he was the one they used whenever they wanted to beat a confession out of the criminals, and he was the one to go in and put an end to all of the prison fights. Any criminal, who thought he was deadly, thought again after he was beaten to a pulp by Officer Sagara. But, now as he watched Megumi go inside the dojo with Kenshin, he knew thought twice about coming back into her life. _I've been gone for two and a half months. It's not long, but it may be just enough for her to give up on me._ He sighed, stood there among the hedges and just contemplated.

Then something hard struck him on the head, and nearly made him black out. He stumbled forward into a rather prickly piece of shrubbery, and then righted himself in just enough time to see the next attack coming. His hand went up and easily grabbed hold of the bokken that was dangerously close to cracking his head open. He looked at his assailant and scowled. _Goddamned brat!_

"Oi, Yahiko! Do you always attack people from behind? That's pretty cowardly, don't ya think?" 

Yahiko had yanked his bokken out of Sano's grasp and he stood ready to strike again. His behavior puzzled Sano. He was about to move forward when Yahiko raised it again attempting another attack. Sano threw his hands up before him and backed away. 

"Alright, I give up. I'm not here to fight you dope now put that damned sword down!" 

Yahiko didn't budge. "Not until you tell us what you're here for." 

Sano looked behind Yahiko to see that Kaoru was standing by the gate, staring at him. All of the questions that they had were contained in those eyes, and Sano gave up his pride and asked her to listen. As he spoke Yahiko lowered his bokken, and threw away any fight he had within him to listen to his friend's story. Kaoru was open to his explanation all along, and the more Sano spoke, the more convinced she was that he would do anything for Megumi- even if it meant he had to leave her for a while.

When Sano stopped speaking Kaoru rushed to him and threw her arms around his neck. Sano made a strangling sound as she squeezed him tight and kissed both of his cheeks. "You're such a great guy, but why didn't you mention anything? We would have understood, you know. And it would have saved you the trouble of asking her to forgive you. What are you going to do now?"

Sano would have spoken but he was too busy trying to breathe. If Kaoru's hugs were this lethal, he would hate to be on the receiving end of one of her Jujitsu chokes. He finally pried her off of him, and took a few breaths. The truth was he had no idea what he was going to say. 

Kaoru and Yahiko exchanged a look and decided that they had to force him to make a move. Since he was still light-headed after a bokken strike and a choke, they easily convinced him to go with them inside the dojo so that he could sit back and have a cup of tea. As they passed through the front entrance walkway Kaoru gasped at the rows of poinsettias that lined the walkway. Yahiko grinned behind her, and silently gave Kenshin a thumbs up in approval. Once they were inside Kaoru took off to see the other rooms, exclaiming loudly, "Oh Kenshin, look at all of this. It's so beautiful!" Yahiko followed her through the house leaving Sano by the doorway, holding on to it so that he wouldn't fall over. He had a horrible headache now, so he leaned his head forward and rubbed at the left side of his temple with his fingers. His closed his eyes and he felt better. Then something touched his right temple and massaged him with expertise until the throbbing pain was nothing more than a dull ache. Sano knew that touch well. She knew just how to make any kind of pain go away, and he wondered if he could do anything to take hers away. 

The fingers moved up so that the palm cupped his cheek, and Sano felt himself being pulled forward. He felt warm breath bathe his face and Sano sank into the depths of his thoughts, reeling from the gentle tickle of her breath and the baby soft skin that blanketed over her rough calluses. Rough calluses? 

Sano opened his eyes to look into a set of mischievous violet ones. The hand patted his cheek firmly. "Long time no see, Sano. I didn't know that you missed me this much though." The eyes twinkled with glee as Sano bolted upright bringing his headache back with a vengeance. He hunched over again, and used both of his hands to rub at his temples. Then he glared up at his friend, surprised that he had such an evil streak in him. 

"Oi, that was a cruel one, Kenshin! I didn't know that you swung that way. Does Jo-chan know anything about this?" He finally got the pain to subside, and when he pulled himself up, he saw that the rest of them were standing in the doorway. Kaoru had the tips of her fingers pressed against her lips to keep from laughing, and Yahiko had a stupid smirk on his face. Kenshin went to join them, and Sano granted each one of them a glare until his gaze stopped at the person who stood to Kenshin's left. She stood quietly next to the snickering fools beside her, not knowing whether to be angry or content with his sudden presence. Sano read the mixture of emotions all over her face and he knew that he had indeed caused some irreparable damage. 

He looked her over and thought that she looked different to him somehow, but he figured that it was impossible for someone to change so drastically in just over two months. Yet there it was that bothersome hunch that he had missed something very important while he was away. He sighed inwardly and regretted ever having been a yakuza to begin with. If he hadn't been in so much trouble in the past, then he wouldn't have felt the need to make such a hasty departure from the life that they had just started to build. Looking at her, he knew that he had hurt her badly. For that he would understand if she never wanted to see him again. 

Sano waited nervously in the doorway, unconsciously cowering under their gaze. He deserved whatever punishment they wanted to inflict on him, and he decided that he would take whatever they wanted to throw at him. To show them that he was at their mercy, he knew that there was only one thing to do. He lowered himself slowly curling his body down so that he was on his knees his hands folded in front of him. Then he leaned forward so that he pressed his forehead onto the tops of his trembling hands. He heard their intake of breath in unison and readied himself for whatever they wanted to do to him now. But he wasn't ready for what came next.

He felt soft hands glide down the sides of his face and lift him slowly up so that he looked right at her. Her eyes weren't angry anymore, but relieved that she no longer had to worry about him. He didn't need to explain anything to her. All she wanted for Christmas was for him to return to her, and she was happy to know that her wish had come true. Her hands now cupped his face and she drew him up slowly into a kiss. Sano was glad that he came back home. 

That evening Kaoru couldn't keep herself away from Kenshin. She constantly had her arms around him, she constantly had her lips pressed against his, and she didn't grow tired of telling Kenshin how much she loved him. Sano was much the same way with Megumi. His arms were wrapped securely around her waist, and he drew her to him so that he could hold her tight. More, and more he knew that he belonged with her, and when Kenshin decided it was time to exchange gifts, Sano looked at him with panic. Kenshin winked at him, and nonchalantly said, "I think that you've already given Megumi-dono her gift." His eyes made a quick glance at Megumi, and she took hold of Sano's hand and placed his palm on her belly. She smiled coyly at the look on his face.

Sano fell down onto his knees. He wasn't sure if it was because they had grown weak, or if it was because he wanted to get closer to it, and address this gift for the first time. His hand circled Megumi's belly, rubbing it gently as he leaned forward and pressed his ear against it. He wanted to see if he could hear anything- a movement, an intake of breath, a beating of a heart. He wanted to know all about it before it came out to meet them in the real world. Megumi carried their baby safe within her, and he in turn vowed that he would keep it safe now and always. He wanted to let it know somehow that he would always be there. All he could think to do was press his forehead against her belly button and breathe in the scent of their new life. He gripped her tightly to him. This was indeed a wonderful Christmas gift. 


End file.
